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Ash Henderson is arrogant, rude, violent and treats everyone as less intelligent than himself. The only person he appears to have some tenderness for is McDonald, a functioning alcoholic who can't work unless she's had a large helping of alcohol. The Coffin Maker's Garden by Stuart MacBride sees the welcome return of Ash Henderson and his motley crew 7 long years since their previous outing in A Song For The Dying. Der Hauptprotagonist Ash Henderson ist ein verbitterter und zynischer Expolizist, der sich selbst und seine kurze Zündschnur nicht im Griff hat und der deshalb ständig mit anderen Menschen aneinander gerät. Sowas muss man mögen - ich auf jeden Fall nicht 😅 And so to UNIVERSITY, far too young, naive and stupid to be away from the family home, sharing a subterranean flat in one of the seedier bits of Edinburgh with a mad Irishman, and four other bizarre individuals. The highlight of walking to the art school in the mornings (yes: we were students, but we still did mornings) was trying not to tread in the fresh bloodstains outside our front door, and dodging the undercover CID officers trying to buy drugs. Lovely place. I did work out a few of the twists in the tale along the way, and perhaps that is just because I read so much crime fiction that I just kind of expected it. But it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story, or stop me from wanting to see just how Ash would ensure that the killer was caught or at the very least received their dues. And it was a rather fitting ending to be fair, quite dramatic and right down to the wire, but very apt. It must be painful to live in Ash Henderson’s world and if you are thinking that Stuart MacBride may have been. a little easier on him with his advancing years, you’d be wrong. It is more a case of how much he can take than how much can you expect to be doled out.
So – did it work? Well, by and large yes. There are two threads to this story. The first is the investigation into the abduction and murder of young boys from around Oldcastle. This is the case that Ash and Dr Alice McDonald are working on when they get a call to attend a scene of a tragic maritime accident in a small coastal village, where an unexpected discovery has been made. Bones. Lots of them. In a garden which is rapidly disappearing into the North Sea due to coastal erosion. But it is not this alone that forces Ash to work alongside DI Malcolmson, a.k.a. ‘Mother’, and her Misfit Mob, but the altogether more grim findings in the basement of the home that the garden and said bones seem to belong to. Stuart MacBride’s books are always so good and this is one is no different. This book is clever, gritty and funny. The media are baying for blood, the top brass are after a scapegoat, and ex-Detective Inspector Ash Henderson is done playing nice. He’s got a killer to catch, and God help anyone who gets in his way. Once again a great plot. 2 cases ongoing dfor the sort-of dynamic duo Ash and Alice. Both with their own demons to bring along and both of which are constantly reminded of.
By (author) Stuart MacBride; Read by TBA
The McRae novels have won him the CWA's Dagger in the Library, the Barry Award for Best Debut Novel, and Best Breakthrough Author at the ITV3 crime thriller awards. First, that title. Rarely does a title alone grab me but I was sold on sight. The book was smiling at me - the barely there sort covering a wealth of mordant humor. I wanted to mine it all. Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift Inspiration A stormy night in Clachmara, a boat floundering near an unstable cliff, a helicopter attempting rescue, a rumble and disaster as the cliff collapses revealing the Coffinmakers Garden. Di Malcolmson (aka Mother) of Oldcastle Division, Ash Henderson and Dr Alice McDonald of LIRU (Lateral Investigative and Review Unit) investigate and make further horrifying discoveries. As if this isn’t bad enough there also a child killer to catch. It requires quite a large suspension of belief to accept this pair as capable of solving not one, but two, major crimes simultaneously without much help from the police. MacBride very rarely introduces a likeable character and, when he does, they are always secondary to Henderson who rides roughshod over everyone in his path. A female police officer appears for a large section of the book but doesn't do much more than drive Henderson about and get leered at, by quite a few characters, because she has attractive boobs. She disappeared after a while and was never referred to again.
Then came a spell of working for myself as a graphic designer, which went the way of all flesh and into the heady world of studio management for a nation-wide marketing company. Then some more freelance design work, a handful of voiceovers for local radio and video production companies and a bash at being an actor (with a small 'a'), giving it up when it became clear there was no way I was ever going to be good enough to earn a decent living. There's murder, mystery, fabulous characters and dark humour that had me laughing out loud throughout. So, despite it's dark subject matter, it's just so well balanced with humour.
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MacBride has an unusual style of presenting telephone conversations partly in italics and of portraying emotion in capitals, usually interspersed with a good sprinkling of swear word, which is unsettling to the eye. The specialised team are established characters from previous books, but this was my first encounter with them. I felt very comfortable with them as they felt natural, with no stiffness about their characters like, at times, when they are new. Alongside, the case of the serial killer is also the disappearance of a neighbour’s daughter. fivestarread #contemporaryfiction #crime #detectivefiction #murdermystery #scottishnoir #serialkillerthriller #suspense #thriller The plot kept me interested throughout with the two main strands and several side issues to occupy my mind. I felt as if my mind was constantly whirring with possible scenarios of how it would play out and being wrong at every turn as it took a different direction. There is the mystery of the unknown child killer and there is the hunt for the murderous pensioner Gordon Smith, who still has all his marbles and hasn’t given up his urges. It’s great stuff.
Ash Henderson, ex police officer and now a 'consultant' of some kind, and Dr Alice McDonald, a forensic psychologist, are sent to the scene to assist the police and become embroiled in the hunt to find the serial killer. Simultaneously, they are involved, to some degree, in an ongoing investigation into another serial killer who is strangling young boys. I do love a serial killer and I do love writing about fictional serial killers,” he says, “but I cannot stand reading about real ones because I can’t get past the fact these are real people, and the people they kill never get remembered – it’s always the person who does the killing. I love writing and reading about made-up ones because no one was hurt in the production of a book.” As a massive storm batters the Scottish coast, Gordon Smith's home is falling into the North Sea. But the crumbling headland has revealed what he's got buried in his garden: human remains. It would be great if the author were to alternate these novels with the Logan McRae ones on an annual basis, thus keeping both series fresh for the reader. I was keen to discover whether the author’s new Ash Henderson novel, THE COFFINMAKER’S GARDEN would match the standard set by his earlier series. I was aware that there were two other Ash Henderson books, written several years ago, that did not match the popularity of the Logan McRae series, so I didn’t bother to read them. “The Coffinmaker’s Garden” seemed to be a new start after the McRae series ended.
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Ash and Alice actually have a falling out in this book and much of the action happens while Ash is working with another member of the Lateral Investigation and Review Unit (LIRU) or with his old police buddy D.I.Shifty Morrow. Henry the Scottie dog accompanies them and caused the most stress for me in the course of the story. Ash is a Superhero - able to continue despite all the beatings, injuries, amputations, torture, stabbings and shootings he receives along the way. But he's the nasty evil Superhero with a psychopathic love of inflicting pain and torturing anyone he assumes to have done wrong. This to me was the ultimate hypocrisy as he himself doesn't seem to even know the rules, let alone follow them. The story is about the murder of young boys and as we're introduced to this horrific news item, Ash finds himself at a row of houses by the sea, all being speedily taken by the storm that's eroding the coast and one house in particular hides a gruesome secret. The strength of MacBride’s books for me has always been the way they combine violent and disturbing storylines with humour. The Logan McRae novels are police procedurals, and follow the logic of an investigation, but the characters are all heightened, funny, odd, with their own idiosyncratic motives, from lust for power, to vanity, to laziness. As if that isn’t enough, there is also a child killer on the loose who has already killed three young boys and who has just snatched a fourth. But Ash has Gordon Smith in his sights. A neighbour of Smith’s turns out to be Helen MacNeil whom Ash has a history with, not romantic, Helen is a criminal and a pretty scary woman - stronger than many men and totally ruthless. She bails Ash up about her missing granddaughter, Leah, who was literally brought up by the Smiths as Helen was in prison and her mother, Sophie, committed suicide. Or did she? Caroline Smith, Gordon’s wife, has since died. No one knows if she was complicit in his crimes but how could she not know?
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